Those days you win.
As Chef Tim @pan_fried from @olympic.meats puts it, when you’re working with great produce and a beautiful piece of pork… everything just falls into place.
#porkstar
💙 Running a restaurant is one of those things people think they understand… until they’re in it.
You can prepare as much as you like, but nothing really prepares you for the mental load. Holding the room together. Managing people, pressure, personalities, systems, and curveballs you never saw coming. Staying steady while service keeps moving, no matter what’s happening behind the scenes.
@pan_fried ‘s recent post hit because it speaks to the part of hospitality most diners never see. The exhaustion behind the smiles. The internal battles. The resilience it takes to keep showing up when things go wrong and when things go right.
That’s why menus like this are worth highlighting because of the level of care put into creating it.
They don’t feel accidental. They feel earned.
Built with restraint, discipline, and respect for the people running the pass as much as the people sitting at the table.
What we ordered for 4 people and happily paid for:
• Bougatsa $15
• Chips (large) $14
• BBQ Eggplant $15
• Kataifi $14
• Kondo $15
• Lamb Souvlaki $50
• Lettuce $26
• Meat Platter $75
• Octopus $18
• Pita Bread $14
• Tarama $15
• SavvyB full serve $45
Total $316 (inc GST)
If you’ve ever worked in hospitality, you’ll know exactly what this feels like.
And if you haven’t, this is the part most people never see.
I’d love to know:
What’s one thing about running a restaurant no one warned you about?
Or tag someone who’s lived it.
📍 @olympic.meats
Menu to Moment
Ex-hospo, current eye.
It’s the summer series of Deep in the Weeds where we catch up with past guests to share some of their favourite travel and food yarns. Today it’s a pleasure to welcome back Tim Cassimatis from Olympic Meats on the show, who takes us on a journey to the birthplace of his father.
Listen and subscribe to @deepintheweedspodcast with @huckstergram wherever you get your podcasts
@pan_fried@olympic.meats@foodwinedine@huckstergram
You know I’d heard from people who’ve opened restaurants before that it is a hard slog, be ready to experience and feel and deal with things you won’t have had to deal with being a head chef, manager etc, nothing will prepare you for what’s to come… well they were right! This is a tribute post to my biggest achievement this year which was to open what is now a monster of a business Olympic Meats. As I sit in my hotel room scrolling through my albums at all the pics and videos, it gave me pretty hectic butterflies. I think it finally hit me. I (plus all of the redhot team ❤️) made it and we actually did a thing! It hasn’t been all peaches and cream. Everyone has seen all the hype all the clout come out of absolutely no where. All the insta re shared all the press and all the publicity, but behind the scenes it was an absolute marathon to uphold, maintain and keep that big grin up😂… we suffered some internal battles (trying to manage 15+ personalities has its challenges, not to mention being swamped by fake emails and calls to council by competitors,.. ‘I got food poisoning at this place’. Was a Google review we received 3 days before we opened to the public. not to mention two fires in the span on 6 weeks where I could’ve lost everything! Having a moment to sit and process all the ups and downs all I can say is what a fucking wild ride 2025 has been! (Not to be one of those cliche “wow 25 you’ve been real” type people) but such a feat does require a special mention and I just need a time stamp, so In a few years I can look back and smile. ❤️
Chuffed to be mentioned as an innovator for championing Hellenic cuisine in Sydney. Proud to continue to carry the torch to champion the ins and outs of this beautiful cuisine ❤️. @goodfoodau@sydneymorningherald #goodfoodguide26
A car accident, induced coma and over 20 operations almost derailed Timothy Cassimatis (Olympic Meats, Marrickville) dream of one day owning a restaurant that honoured his Greek heritage. But time, patience and family helped him find a way through adversity and now he runs one of the most popular venues in Sydney where the food of his family is front and centre.
Listen and subscribe to @deepintheweedspodcast with @huckstergram wherever you get your podcasts.
This episode is proudly supported by @artspay_@olympic.meats@pan_fried
Download the Secondz app to save all @pan_fried recs’ - the king behind @olympic.meats
Link below and in bio:
https://bit.ly/m/secondz
#secondz #downloadtheapp #restaurant #foodie #Sydney
Greek Australians are blessed with a brand new opening that sets out to bring traditional Greek cuisine to 2025 🇬🇷🇦🇺
At @olympic.meats@pan_fried and his team - quite literally - make almost everything from scratch 👨🍳
You can read more about it by following the link in our bio @souvlakination_ and clicking on the ‘stories’ section 📝
Congratulations to Tim & his team 👏
📸: @declanblackall
#Sydney #NewSouthWales #Marrickville #MarrickvilleSydney #GreekAustralian #GreekAustralians #SydneyGreek #SydneyGreeks #SydneyGreekfood #SydneyGreekfoodies #SydneyGreekfoodie #GreekfoodAustralia #GreekfoodSydney #OlympicMeats #MarrickvilleGreek #GeorgeCalombaris #gyros #kontosouvli #souva #kokoretsi #spanakopita #Greekchef #Australianchef #AustraliaGreekrestaurant #Greekrestaurant #Greekfood #Greekfoodies #Greekgyros #tsigerosarmades #tsigaridia
It’s official! i am launching my very first restaurant. This has been a decade plus in the making and i am proud to announce @olympic.meats will be opening its doors early 2025. What is Olympic Meats? a mix between a ‘Gyradiko’ a ‘psitopoleio’ and a ‘taverna’ celebrating the romance in the simplicity of Greek cooking. We will have a small menu of a few Pitogyro’s, using sourdough pita cooked in the woodfire oven. A small rotating menu of meze and sides, along with kontosouvli, a rotating loukanika and cured meats program, and highlighting some forgotten specialty items like Kokoretsi, babo & pasto!
We’re not trying to make you feel like you’re in Greece at all, we’re just a fast paced inner west charcoal restaurant celebrating all the beautiful things I grew up loving, eating,
cooking with my pappou and yiayia’s, and from visiting family back in Greece.
It’s a privilege to be able to open up a venue championing all of this in what once was a culturally Greek stronghold of an area, where my Pappou and yiayia and many post war migrants moved to and to continue the cycle of life there.
Xo
